Accident victim full of praise for heroes

Train accident victim Matt Robinson has called a Saffron Walden former Army lieutenant colonel “my hero” after his life was saved when he lost both legs at Stortford station.

The 29-year-old expressed his gratitude on the internet to Mark Budden, the former commanding officer of 101 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) based at Carver Barracks, Wimbish, and also telephoned two other commuters from his hospital who helped.

John Thorp and Pamela Abbott both followed father-of-two Mr Budden, 41, down onto the tracks and played a vital role in the city worker’s emergency treatment, following the retired soldier’s instructions.

Matt said of Mr Budden: “He truly is my hero, along with the other two who jumped in.

“I don’t know if it was fate or luck that put him in place, but I know if he wasn’t there I wouldn’t be typing this message from my bed.”

But Mr Budden played down his contribution, saying: “I was the right person in the right place.”

John Thorp, who lives in Denny Court, Bishop’s Stortford, was making his way along the platform to cross the footbridge and meet wife Kerry in the rear station car park on Wednesday, January 9, when he saw Matt fall underneath the 18.24 Stansted Express.

The 40-year-old forensic investigator for the Financial Services Authority in London said: “My first instinct was that he was dead.”

He ordered station staff to call the emergency services and shut off power as he reached the casualty, who had lost one leg above the knee and the other below.

He said: “When you see someone in that level of distress, your human reaction is to get stuck in.”

Mr Thorp followed instructions issued by Mr Budden, who called on his battlefield first aid training, and used his entire body weight to staunch Matt’s bleeding by pulling on a makeshift tourniquet until ambulance and fire crews arrived around 20 minutes after the accident.

Miss Abbott is head of ICT for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and splits her time between Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, and London.

The 49-year-old single mother-of-three, who lives in Stapleford, witnessed Matt’s accident as he appeared to lose his footing after twice returning to the train to search for his lost wallet.

She said: “I just saw him go down. I heard the train go over him and once the train was gone, he was screaming.

“I do not feel in any way exceptional, I just remember thinking what we need to do is get first aid.”

She also held one of the belts staunching the blood flow and the three good Samaritans worked as a team.

Soon after, Matt was well enough to call her from his bed in Addenbrooke’s, Cambridge, where he is recovering from surgery.

She said: “He was brilliant. He said ‘I’m the person whose life you have saved’. I just feel really humble about it – I just feel I did what anyone would.”